Apple's share price has performed better since the beginning of the year against US indices and competitors in the form of Silicon Valley giants Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta Platforms. The company's stock price has been soaring since the presentation of solid results for the second quarter of the year, and demand has not slowed down amid the presentation of new products that could prove to be sales hits. Significantly, the company's best quarters may be yet to come, as it is the holiday season that has usually been associated with a jump in revenues for the company. Fans of new technologies are waiting with bated breath for the presentation of the model of the new iPhone 14 and the virtual reality kit:
IPhone - the king is one?
Smartphones in the iPhone series are Apple's flagship devices, which generated more than half of the company's total revenue in 2021. On September 7, Apple will unveil a new model, the iPhone 14. Of course, that's not all during the company's busy autumn, Apple is set to unveil iPads, a new Mac model and three Apple Watch models. The company did not signal in its last report that it expects a decline in demand although the facts are inexorable - Apple will present a model in an uncertain macro environment. At the same time, the U.S. economy is clearly doing well, a strong labor market and rising wages should indicate solid sales... at least in the United States. The new iPhones' are expected to arrive in stores on September 16, just nine days after the launch which confirms that supply chains have probably improved. The exact time of the presentation, traditionally available for online viewing, is not yet known.
The primary visual modifications that will include the iPhone14 Pro are the elimination of the front camera cutout (notch) with a small hole for Face ID sensors and a hole for the camera which should give the smartphone more screen space. The Pro version will also get a faster chip, standard versions will retain the A15 from the previous 13 model release. Apple will eliminate the mini version and add a 6.7-inch diagonal for the first time to the standard models of the smartphone. The new model will be equipped with a 48 megapixel wide-angle camera. The company also said it will focus on extending battery life and battery life.
Apple in recent news of very serious security vulnerabilities in Mac devices, iPhones (from version 6s) and iPads. The bugs, described as Exploit and WebKit, can give hackers the ability to take full control of the devices hence Apple recommends updating the software to the latest version. The information comes out moments before the release of the new iPhone however, it certainly won't project a drop in interest in the launch.
Virtual reality returns to favor
One of the devices the market has been waiting for for many months is a VR headset from Apple, made with passthrough technology, which, due to its high efficiency and ease of scaling according to many experts, is likely to temporarily dominate the market for virtual and mixed reality AR/VR headsets. If the so-called mixed reality (MR) passthrough technology proves to work as planned, VR kits could take over the role of AR kits, and offer digital overlays of the real world which will increase the possibility of building applications and practical use in the real world.
Technology built by BigTech companies finally face the chance of an epochal upgrade of the PC market, which could evolve into 'headsets'. It's worth mentioning that demand and interest in virtual reality technology grew mightily in the 1990s, but was 'halted' by the Internet boom, when many tech companies shifted to a new course of development and began to connect to the Internet to explore the business opportunities the new market offers. Today, VR technology is making a comeback with a whole new technological background. The biggest challenge still remains resolution, which according to CounterPoint Research needs to be up to 6 times denser (3550 PPI) than smartphone screens to 'sink' users into virtual reality.
The main competitor in VR technology for Apple is, of course, Meta Platforms, which is spending record amounts of billions of dollars on Metaverse (digital worlds) technology and research. The company has entered the market with its Oculus Quest 2 series VR products, which will account for 78% of the VR headset market in 2021. In addition, Zuckerbeg's company intends to unveil a new Cambria headset that is improved and almost twice as expensive (at least $800) as Oculus. Apple is taking up the gauntlet and may unveil a competing headset for Meta as early as the last quarter of the year. It is still unclear whether Apple will time the launch before the holiday season, the presentation may be delayed until early next year. The projected price of the device will be... $3,000. Niche companies like HTC and Finland's Vario are also currently producing VR headsets. However, it is likely that the market will be dominated by Silicon Valley giants with tens of billions of dollars at their disposal. Will Apple win the battle for the VR market? The company will not close in on the handheld market and between 2023 and 2025 intends to... Build an electric car.
Show of market strenght
Apple has shown that it has performed well during the economic downturn, record inflation and has been able to minimize risks from supply chain problems and bottlenecks. Demand for the company's products remains high and its early adopters are dominated by wealthier customers who are reluctant to forgo consumer spending and stay with the company for the long term. In light of this news, we can expect Apple to continue to be perceived by investors as a 'safe haven' in the new technology market, which can definitely favor the company's valuation, also in the face of market volatility and declining risk sentiment.
Apple (AAPL.US) stock chart, D1 interval. Demand became active after the stock price fell below the 200-session moving average, which remains one of the key determinants in determining trends. The price has now almost completely erased the declines since the beginning of the year and is returning to the uptrend. Along the way, however, it may encounter key resistance near $180, which is marked by two previous peaks in February and November 2021. The company's record-high price-to-book-value (P/B ratio) has reached more than 48 points, but does not hinder growth, confirming Apple's growing role in the new technology market and high brand value. The price-to-earnings (P/E ratio) remains at a relatively healthy 28 points with Amazon at 71 points, 31 for Microsoft and the index average of 25 points for NASDAQ index companies. This means that expectations for the company's future earnings are not overly inflated, which could prove beneficial for further growth in its valuation. Source: xStation5
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